Promethean, a global interactive education leader, was named a 2005 Awards of Excellence winner by Technology & Learning magazine for its Activstudio version 2 lesson development software.

Software and Web products being honored in the Technology & Learning magazine?s prestigious 23-year-old recognition program included innovative applications that break new ground and also best-of-breed examples that demonstrated clear superiority over similar products in the market.

This year's Technology & Learning magazine curriculum product winners were chosen by more than 30 educator-judges who test-drove the more than 130 entries, logging in many hours in computer labs at San Francisco Bay Area schools. This year?s selections include numerous Web-, CD-, and DVD-based programs, as well as software running on handheld devices and several special hardware/software combination packages. Among the high-quality offerings recognized this year were math and science programs that encourage students to think critically, cutting-edge presentation tools, a range of communication and collaboration applications, data management resources, and much more.

An integral component to the Promethean Collaborative Classroom, Activstudio2 works hand in hand with the Promethean interactive whiteboard to empower teachers to deliver rich, animated and sound-enabled content to enliven classroom experiences and learning. By incorporating a new expanded resource library that teachers can use to quickly develop collaborative lessons for the Promethean Activboard interactive whiteboard, Activstudio2 encourages collaboration among teachers and turns the lesson creation software into a district-wide curriculum delivery vehicle. Lessons can be saved locally or to a central storage point and catalogued by keywords (e.g., state standards, topic, grade level, subject, activity type).

Available in both PC and Mac formats, Activstudio2 has been completely rewritten for Mac OS X to include Apple?s newest version OS X 10.4 Tiger operating system. One of the most exciting aspects of running Activstudio2 for Mac OS X is the innovative 3D interface. Each placed object or hand-written annotation casts a shadow on the page, making the images ?pop? off of the Promethean Activboard. Cool page transitions, AppleScript support and handwriting recognition using OS X ?Ink? technology rounds out the OS X offering.

Activstudio2 facilitates greater classroom interaction while providing built-in whole-group assessment. Activstudio2, when used with Promethean?s Activote voting devices, allows teachers to quickly and easily assess student knowledge and understanding. Having access to immediate feedback allows teachers to adjust their instruction and lesson direction to student needs. Teachers can use prepared questions with Activstudio2, as well as ask questions on the fly. Students register their responses simultaneously using the handheld remote Activote assessment devices. This technology increases student participation, resulting in more effective learning.